The Hidden King: Rise of Hercules

The Fake Cheque

Alex peered closer at the paperwork, doing his absolute best to ignore the secretary glaring at him like he was some kind of disgusting bug crawling across her desk.

He brushed it off. He was supposed to keep his cover low-key anyway. Scanning down the options, he noticed several listings marked with distinct stars.

He looked up at the secretary, and she immediately whipped her head away to pretend she wasn't staring.

“What's up with the stars” he began, though he really didn't feel like pulling teeth to get an answer.

“Those mean the position is already filled,” she blurted out, spinning back around with a fake, stiff grin. “Can I get you some coffee or tea?”

Alex ignored her completely, watching her shoulders go rigid with frustration.

“I'll take the manager spot,” he stated calmly, dropping the file right onto her desk and locking eyes with her.

“Hold on a second,” she frowned, her face darkening. “You literally just saw that job is taken.”

“Yeah, I did. I asked you about it,” he replied smoothly.

“So why pick a slot that's already occupied? What, are you planning to fire the guy currently running it?”

Alex stared at her for a second, glanced back down at the list, and then raised his eyes. “Did you hand me this list in the first place? Because I honestly forgot.”

Jane glared at him hard. “I gave you the sheet, but—” she started before Alex cut her off flatly.

“Listen, Miss Position—” he began innocently.

“Jane,” she corrected sharply, clearly losing her mind over his total lack of basic memory.

Alex gave a quick nod, not caring about her name at all. He knew she despised him, and the feeling was mutual.

“You brought the sheet out, which means there was a reason behind it. I don't care what that reason was,” he said, pushing himself up from the chair. “I've picked what I want.”

Jane looked him up and down with clear disgust. “Very well then, Mr. Alex. I'll need to pull some of your personal details, and your office will be ready by tomorrow morning.” She gave his clothes a harsh judgment glance, though she kept her mouth shut.

Alex nodded once more and walked out of the corporate building. Charles was hanging around outside the front entrance for some reason, though Alex couldn't care less what his problem was.

Stepping out into the afternoon air and breathing a heavy sigh of relief, Alex knew he needed to gear up for his new management role. He had to grab some decent suits and probably upgrade his phone, too.

And that meant finally cashing in some of the cash Alfred had handed him.

He reached his neighborhood in no time and grabbed the bank cheque. Since his in-laws were still staying over, he knew he'd have to crash at their place again tonight, which meant another miserable night sleeping out in the drafty servants' quarters.

Oh well. He still had to prove to those snobs that he was the best son-in-law they could ever dream of.

The local bank branch was just a short walk away. Truth be told, everyone inside knew him quite well because he used to run courier delivery drops for them all the time.

Aside from that, the staff there had a nasty habit of playing favorites and talking down to him whenever they felt like flexing a little power.

It was just another piece of the bitter daily routine Alex had to swallow to get by.

“Well, look what crawled in off the street,” Peter teased with a sneer. He was basically Alex’s number-one enemy at the branch—a mid-level banker who thought the sun shone out of his suit pockets. He wasn't rich by any stretch, but he looked decent and made a fair salary.

Still, he wasn't even close to matching Alex's natural looks. What Alex lacked right now was just the heavy bank account to back it up.

“Hey,” Alex greeted casually, stepping right up to Peter’s counter with the cheque clutched in his hand.

“Why aren't you wearing your delivery uniform today, delivery boy?” Jessica chimed in from her terminal, glancing up with a nasty smirk.

Alex kept his cool, brushing off the jab as he stepped closer to Peter's window. “I need to make a cash withdrawal.”

“At the front counter?” Peter raised an eyebrow skeptically. Alex just stared at him without blinking. “Don't you know large amounts like this have to go through proper channels instead of bothering a regular teller?”

“I’m not trying to do a standard” Alex started, but Jessica burst out into a loud, shrill laugh that echoed across the lobby.

“Alex is always good for a comedy routine, did you guys know that?” She turned back to help the customer waiting at her desk.

Alex looked from Jessica back to Peter. “I want to see your branch manager right now, because the funds on this cheque are way too high for a counter transaction,” he said firmly.

“What is this, a hidden camera show?” Peter laughed out loud, drawing the attention of people nearby. “Man, you're cracking me up. I really needed a good laugh today.”

A sharp wave of anger hit Alex right in the chest. No matter where he went, people were always trying to step all over him like dirt. It was like they were completely blind.

No, they were just too blind to see that he was Hercules.

“Peter, take me to the manager's office right now, or I'll walk right back there myself!” Alex warned, his voice dropping low.

“Relax, tough guy. Just hand over the paper so I can look at it. I wouldn't want you getting in trouble if you're just messing around with fake props,” Peter sneered sarcastically.

“Go ahead. Just keep your trap shut while you do it,” Alex snapped back.

Peter snatched the cheque and took it back to his computer terminal. He already knew it was impossible for a broke guy like Alex to possess a valid cheque of this size, but he figured he'd humor the idiot for a second.

“Aha! Account not found? What a absolute shocker, total fake!” Peter yelled across the lobby, making sure everyone within a mile could hear him. In his mind, since he couldn't pull up the records right away, the paper had to be a forgery.

He had labeled Alex a total loser the very first day the kid started working as a delivery courier, especially since he knew Alex was an orphan with nothing to his name. Peter could never bring himself to respect someone like that.

“Well, loser? Got anything to say for yourself now?” Peter smirked, leaning over the counter before ripping the cheque straight down the middle into useless pieces.